Numerical prediction of droplet dynamics in turbulent flow,using the level set method

In the present article, the droplet dynamics in turbulent flow is numerically predicted. The modelling is based on an interfacial marker-level set (IMLS) method, coupled with the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations to predict the dynamics of turbulent two-phase flow. The governing equations for time-dependent, two-dimensional and incompressible two-phase flow are described in both phases and solved separately using a control volume approach on structured cell-centred collocated grids. The topological changes of the interface are predicted by applying the level set approach. The kinematic and dynamic conditions on the interface separating the two phases are satisfied. The numerical method proposed is validated against a well-known computational fluid dynamics problem. Further, the deformation and breakup of a single droplet either suddenly moved in air or exposed to turbulent stream are numerically investigated. In general, the developed numerical method demonstrates remarkable capability in predicting the characteristics of complex turbulent two-phase flows.     

Influence of Axisymmetric Assumptions on Large Eddy Simulations of a Confined Jet and a Swirl Flow

Axisymmetric geometries can be found in many practical flow applications. In the attempt to predict these flows numerically, RANS flow solvers can decrease the computational efforts dramatically by taking this axisymmetry into account and by computing only a pie-segment of the flow. However, the extension of the concept of axisymmetric flows to LES computations is not straightforward, since the boundary conditions on the axis of symmetry are altering the instantaneous flow field. In this study, the influence of the introduction of an axis of symmetry to LES computations is assessed by computations of a flow with and without swirl over an axisymmetric expansion. The LES computations are performed on a full three-dimensional and a 90° segment of the geometry. The results are compared and the influence of the axis put into relation with the gain in computational costs.     

An experimental investigation of droplet evaporation and coalescence in a simple jet flow

An experimental study of a simple jet flow, which contains a dispersion of fine droplets, has been carried out in order to investigate the effect of turbulence, evaporation and coalescence on the droplet size distributions within the jet. Very little evaporation occurs in the potential core of the jet, while in the far-field, where the potential core has vanished and the droplets disperse more readily, evaporation occurs predominantly in the outer portions of the spray. Evidently, turbulence enhances the evaporation rate of droplets at the edges of the spray, and fresh air entrained from the outer regions increases the evaporative driving force. Coalescence has also been observed within the spray, although this effect is rather subtle compared to the evaporation effect in the dilute jets investigated here. Nevertheless, sufficient measurements have been taken to validate, at least partially, any coalescence models, in addition to any turbulence and evaporation models for dilute poly-disperse sprays.     

Numerical and experimental study of an axially induced swirling pipe flow

In-line flow segregators based on axial induction of swirling flow have important applications in chemical, process and petroleum production industries. In the later, the segregation of gas bubbles and/or water droplets dispersed into viscous oil by swirling pipe flow may be beneficial by either providing a pre-separation mechanism (bubble and/or drop coalescer) or, in the case of water-in-oil dispersions, by causing a water-lubricated flow pattern to establish in the pipe (friction reduction). Works addressing these applications are rare in the literature. In this paper, the features and capabilities of swirling pipe flow axially induced by a vane-type swirl generator were investigated both numerically and experimentally. The numerical analysis has been carried out using a commercial CFD package for axial Reynolds numbers less than 2000. Pressure drop, tangential and axial velocity components as well as swirl intensity along a 5 cm i.d. size and 3 m long pipe were computed. Single phase flow experiments have been performed using a water–glycerin solution of 54 mPa s viscosity and 1210 kg/m³ density as working fluid. The numerical predictions of the pressure drop were compared with the experimental data and agreement could be observed within the range of experimental conditions. The experiments confirmed that swirl flow leads to much higher friction factors compared with theoretical values for non-swirl (i.e. purely axial) flow. Furthermore, the addition of a conical trailing edge reduces vortex breakdown. Visualization of the two-phase swirling flow pattern was achieved by adding different amounts of air to the water–glycerin solution upstream the swirl generator.     

液滴在气体介质中剪切破碎的数值模拟研究

液滴变形和破碎是燃料抛撒问题的重要过程.本文将VOF方法和标准k-ε湍流模型组合,建立了计算液滴在气流中变形破碎过程的数值方法.数值模拟了相关的实验,计算得到的液滴破碎过程与实验结果符合较好.在此基础上,分析了几个关键参数(Weber数、Ohnesorge数、液气密度比)对液滴破碎过程的影响.计算结果表明,Weber数...     

Numerical and experimental investigation of a serpentine inlet duct

This article presents a numerical and experimental investigation of the flow inside an ultra-compact, serpentine inlet duct. The numerical analysis used two flow solvers: FLUENT®, a commercial code, and UNS3D, an in-house code. The flow was modelled using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The turbulence effects were modelled by using the shear-stress transport k–ω model. The numerical investigation was compared against experimental data obtained in an open-circuit, low-speed wind tunnel in the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Texas A&M University. The numerical simulations and experimental testing were performed to reveal the separation points and the strong secondary flow phenomena within the inlet. UNS3D overpredicted the location of the first separation point by 9 mm and the location of the second separation point by 1 mm, while the area-averaged pressure loss coefficient was 5% higher than in the experiment. The numerical results of UNS3D agreed better with the experiment than those of FLUENT.     

Research on the particle dispersion in the particulate two-phase round jet

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Effect of the contact-line dynamics on the natural oscillations of a cylindrical droplet

The natural oscillations of a cylindrical droplet of an inviscid liquid surrounded by a different liquid and bounded in the axial direction by solid planes are studied. The motion of the contact line is described using an effective boundary condition. The dependence of the frequency and damping ratio on the capillary parameter is found. It is shown that the fundamental frequency of the translation mode vanishes beginning from a certain value of the capillary parameter. Depending on the ratio of the radial and axial dimensions of the droplet, the fundamental frequency of the axisymmetric mode and modes higher than the translation mode can vanish in a certain range of the capillary parameter. This dependence of the natural oscillation frequencies on the problem parameters allows one to determine the capillary parameter. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 78–86, September–October, 2007.     

An experimental investigation of dispersion in layered porous media

Experiments were run in three linear, homogeneous, nonuniform porous media constructed in lucite columns using spherical glass beads. The columns were also joined end to end to create an in series layered heterogeneous porous media. Each column, all combinations of columns and several permutations were studied with a factorial experimental design to determine the effects of porosity, permeability, velocity, length, and column order upon dispersion. Attempts to predict the heterogeneous results from the homogeneous results were made, and a statistical regression based on the factorial design was calculated. Results showed that no simple averaging procedure accurately predicted the heterogeneous results. The statistical regression showed permeability, velocity, viscosity, length and column order to be significant.     

带尾翼水下自然超空泡射弹数值模拟研究

基于Navier-Stokes方程,考虑气液间相变,采用大涡模拟湍流模型,PISO算法及VOF方法,利用自行开发的程序对绕三维带尾翼水下自然超空泡射弹的非定常空泡流动进行了数值模拟研究.通过计算结果得到超空泡从射弹头部初生至完全包裹弹身的形成过程.在此基础上,计算不同攻角条件下的超空泡形态,并给出射弹表面空泡厚度分布曲线,分析不同攻角对超空泡形态特性的影响规律,以及在零攻角条件下,分析尾翼对空泡形态的影响.另外计算不同空化数条件下的超空泡无量纲长度和厚度,将计算结果与实验数据进行对比,两者吻合较好.研究结果为进一步研究水下高速射弹的水动力特性和弹道特性问题提供理论基础.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of turbulent flow in a rectangular duct

Details of the turbulent flow in a 1:8 aspect ratio rectangular duct at a Reynolds number of approximately 5800 were investigated both numerically and experimentally. The three-dimensional mean velocity field and the normal stresses were measured at a position 50 hydraulic diameters downstream from the inlet using laser doppler velocimetry (LDV). Numerical simulations were carried out for the same flow case assuming fully developed conditions by imposing cyclic boundary conditions in the main flow direction. The numerical approach was based on the finite volume technique with a non-staggered grid arrangement and the SIMPLEC algorithm. Results have been obtained with a linear and a non-linear (Speziale) k–ε model, combined with the Lam–Bremhorst damping functions for low Reynolds numbers. The secondary flow patterns, as well as the magnitude of the main flow and overall parameters predicted by the non-linear k–ε model, show good agreement with the experimental results. However, the simulations provide less anisotropy in the normal stresses than the measurements. Also, the magnitudes of the secondary velocities close to the duct corners are underestimated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of a droplet cluster to visualize microscale gas and liquid flows

The possibility of using microdroplets, which form a dissipative droplet-cluster structure, as tracers localized in the boundary layer of a gas adjoining a liquid-gas interface is experimentally demonstrated. Examples of the visualization of boundary layer flow fields generated by both processes in the gaseous phase and liquid convection are considered.     

Numerical investigation of the spray-mesh-turbulence interactions for high-pressure, evaporating sprays at engine conditions

This work presents a numerical methodology to simulate evaporating, high pressure Diesel sprays using the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. Specific sub-models were developed to describe the liquid spray injection and breakup, and the influence of the liquid jet on the turbulence viscosity in the vicinity of the nozzle. To reduce the computational time and easily solve the problem of the grid dependency, the possibility to dynamically refine the grid where the fuel-air mixing process takes place was also included.The validity of the proposed approach was firstly verified simulating an evaporating spray in a constant-volume vessel at non-reacting conditions. The availability of a large quantity of experimental data allowed us to investigate in detail the effects of grid size, ambient diffusivity and used spray sub-models. In this way, different guidelines were derived for a successful simulation of the fuel-air mixture formation process. Finally, fuel injection and evaporation were simulated in an optical engine geometry and computed mixture fraction distributions were compared with experimental data.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of flow over a semicircular weir

The water flow over a semicircular weir is investigated numerically and experimentally in this paper. The numerical model solves the Reynolds equation for a mean flow field with thek-ε-turbulent model. To trace the motion of the free surface, the COF method with geometric reconstruction is employed. The velocity of the flow is measured by means of LDV technique. Four types of flow patterns, the position of the separation and reattachment point, the distribution of shear stress on the bed at downstream of the weir are presented and discussed. The numerical results agree well with the experiment data.     

超声速钝体逆向喷流减阻的数值模拟研究

为研究逆向喷流技术对超声速钝体减阻的影响,采用标准k-ε湍流模型,通过求解二维Navier-Stokes方程对超声速球头体逆向冷喷流流场进行了数值模拟,并着重分析了喷口总压、喷口尺寸对流场模态和减阻效果的影响。计算结果显示:随着喷流总压的变化,流场可出现两种流动模态,即长射流穿透模态和短射流穿透模态;喷流能使球头体受到的阻力明显减小;存在最大减阻临界喷流总压值(在所研究参数范围内最大减阻可达51.1%);在其它喷流物理参数不变时,随着喷口尺寸的增大,同一流动模态下的减阻效果下降。本文的研究对超声速钝体减阻技术在工程上的应用具有一定的参考价值。     

Numerical study on the dynamics of droplet passing through a cylinder obstruction in confined microchannel flow

The droplet dynamics passing through a cylinder obstruction was investigated with direct numerical simulations with FE-FTM (Finite Element-Front Tracking Method). The effect of droplet size and capillary number (Ca) was studied for both Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids. In the case of Newtonian droplet immersed in Newtonian medium, the droplet breakup induced by the geometric hindrance depends on the droplet size. As Ca increases, the short droplets (1.3 times longer than the channel width) break up while passing through the obstruction. However, the breakup does not occur for longer droplets (1.8 times longer than the channel width). When the viscoelastic fluid characterized by the Oldroyd-B model is considered, the Newtonian droplet immersed in viscoelastic medium breaks up into two smaller droplets while passing through the cylinder obstruction with increasing De_m (Deborah number of the medium). We also show that the normal stress difference plays a key role on the droplet breakup and the droplet extension. The normal stress difference is enhanced in the negative wake region due to the droplet flow, which also promotes droplet extension in that region. This numerical study provides information not only on underlying physics of the droplet flows passing through a cylinder obstruction but also on the useful guidelines for microfluidic applications.     

Numerical simulations of droplet train and free surface jet impingement

The cooling behavior of the impingement of a droplet train, and free surface jets over a heated and pre-wetted surface is explored employing an Algebraic Volume-of-Fluid methodology. The code is based on a modified version of the two-phase numerical solver interFoam (OpenFOAM) (Trujillo and Lewis, 2012). Two versions of the free surface jet are studied. The first consists of a fully-developed profile exiting the nozzle, and the second is characterized by a uniform velocity distribution. Results show that both jet configurations have higher cooling performance than the droplet train locally and globally, with the fully-developed case being the most effective of the two jet arrangements. Locally, the performance is measured by radial profiles of the boundary-layer-displacement thickness and heat transfer coefficient. Globally, the cooling effectiveness is directly proportional to the surface area that resides within the high-convection region, i.e. before the boundary layer separation point. On a temporal basis, the liquid film within the impingement region of the droplet train exhibits pronounced variations in velocity magnitude and film thickness. This is directly attributed to the nature of continuous droplet impacts affecting the impingement region, and gives rise to an unsteady cooling and heating of the fluid near the wall. In contrast for the jets, the film and the corresponding free surface are nearly steady with only minor perturbations.     

Effect of secondary flow on droplet distribution and deposition in horizontal annular pipe flow

In horizontal annular dispersed pipe flow the liquid film at the bottom is thicker and rougher than at the top of the pipe. A turbulent pipe flow experiencing a variation of roughness along the pipe wall will show a secondary flow. Such secondary flow, consisting of two counter-rotating cells in the cross-section of the tube, can change the distribution of the droplets inside the pipe and their deposition at the wall. Here, we compare the behaviour of the droplets (dispersed phase) with and without secondary flow, using large-eddy simulations. It is shown that the presence of secondary flow increases the droplet concentration in the core of the pipe and the droplet deposition-rate at the top of the pipe.     

Numerical simulation of bubble and droplet deformation by a level set approach with surface tension in three dimensions

In this paper we present a three‐dimensional Navier–Stokes solver for incompressible two‐phase flow problems with surface tension and apply the proposed scheme to the simulation of bubble and droplet deformation. One of the main concerns of this study is the impact of surface tension and its discretization on the overall convergence behavior and conservation properties. Our approach employs a standard finite difference/finite volume discretization on uniform Cartesian staggered grids and uses Chorin's projection approach. The free surface between the two fluid phases is tracked with a level set (LS) technique. Here, the interface conditions are implicitly incorporated into the momentum equations by the continuum surface force method. Surface tension is evaluated using a smoothed delta function and a third‐order interpolation. The problem of mass conservation for the two phases is treated by a reinitialization of the LS function employing a regularized signum function and a global fixed point iteration. All convective terms are discretized by a WENO scheme of fifth order. Altogether, our approach exhibits a second‐order convergence away from the free surface. The discretization of surface tension requires a smoothing scheme near the free surface, which leads to a first‐order convergence in the smoothing region. We discuss the details of the proposed numerical scheme and present the results of several numerical experiments concerning mass conservation, convergence of curvature, and the application of our solver to the simulation of two rising bubble problems, one with small and one with large jumps in material parameters, and the simulation of a droplet deformation due to a shear flow in three space dimensions. Furthermore, we compare our three‐dimensional results with those of quasi‐two‐dimensional and two‐dimensional simulations. This comparison clearly shows the need for full three‐dimensional simulations of droplet and bubble deformation to capture the correct physical behavior. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.